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Anfield Resources Inc
Symbol ARY
Shares Issued 40,636,323
Close 2015-08-26 C$ 0.16
Market Cap C$ 6,501,812
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Anfield Resources closes Uranium One deal

2015-09-01 08:40 ET - News Release

Mr. Corey Dias reports

ANFIELD RESOURCES INC. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF URANIUM ONE TRANSACTION

Anfield Resources Inc. has closed the Uranium One transaction. Anfield has acquired the Shootaring Canyon mill and a portfolio of conventional uranium assets from Uranium One. In addition to the Shootaring Canyon mill and the Velvet-Wood project, the transaction also includes an impressive portfolio of uranium assets, two surface stockpiles and a number of royalties on projects held by other publicly traded companies.

Corey Dias, Anfield's chief executive officer, stated: "We are delighted to announce the closing of the Uranium One transaction. With the transaction we have now acquired one of only three licensed and permitted conventional uranium mills in existence in the United States, a significant uranium resource and a portfolio of royalties on development projects of other uranium companies. All our uranium assets are located in the U.S., one of the world's lowest-risk and most favourable uranium jurisdictions, and host of the world's largest uranium requirements. The assets are synergistic and provide a strategic, stepped approach to production and revenue generation. Our acquisition has fortuitous timing as our carefully selected U.S. projects are positioned to benefit from renewed U.S. interest in clean nuclear energy and domestic uranium producers, and the strengthening global uranium market."

Within the volatile commodity universe, uranium has shown itself to be particularly resilient. Over the past year, the uranium spot price has increase by more than 25 per cent, while other commodities have seen significant declines. Moreover, positive news from Japan related to the restart of reactors, India's decision to create a strategic uranium reserve, Russia's significant expansion of domestic nuclear projects and turnkey nuclear projects abroad, a continued expansion of nuclear reactors in China and globally, and an expected uranium shortfall in the coming years due to deferment of uranium projects in the current low-price environment -- all bode well for sustained increases in the uranium price.

Key assets

Shootaring Canyon uranium mill

The Shootaring Canyon uranium mill is one of only three licensed, permitted and constructed conventional uranium mills in existence in the U.S., with the other two held by BHP Billiton (Sweetwater) and Energy Fuels Inc. (White Mesa). Located approximately 48 miles (77 kilometres) south of Hanksville, Utah, the Shootaring Canyon mill is a conventional acid-leach facility that is permitted to process up to 750 tonnes of ore per day, with a capacity to process up to 1,000 tonnes per day. The mill was built in 1980 and during its period of operation it processed and sold 27,825 pounds of U3O8. It ceased operation with the collapse of the uranium price in the early 1980s.

Velvet-Wood project

The Velvet-Wood project is one of the most advanced conventional uranium projects in the U.S. Between 1979 and 1984, approximately 400,000 tons of ore were mined from the Velvet deposit at grades of 0.46 per cent U3O8 and 0.64 per cent VO5 (recovering approximately four million pounds of U3O8 and five million pounds of V2O5).

Some underground infrastructure is already in place at the Velvet mine including a 3,500-foot-long, 12-by-nine decline to the resource. The remaining mineral resources of the combined Velvet and Wood mines have been estimated to comprise 4.6 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.29 per cent U3O8 (measured and indicated resource) and 552,000 pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.32 per cent U3O8 (inferred resource).

                                                          Average grade 
Area/classification                             Tons        % eU3O8       Pounds U3O8

Velvet measured mineral resource                362,600      0.27          1,966,000  
Velvet indicated mineral resource                71,200      0.38            548,000    
Wood indicated mineral resource                 377,000      0.28          2,113,000  
                                                                                    
Total measured and indicated mineral resource   810,800      0.29          4,627,000  
                                                                                    
Total inferred mineral resource                  87,000      0.32            552,000    

(Source:  Velvet-Wood mine uranium project, San Juan county, Utah, U.S., NI 43-101 
 mineral reserve and resource report, author: BRS Inc.; date: Nov. 14, 2014.) 

Frank M deposit

The Frank M deposit, located approximately 12 km north of the Shootaring Canyon mill, has a historic indicated mineral resource estimate of 2.2 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.101 per cent U3O8.

Classification          Tons     Average grade % U3O8    Pounds U3O8

Historic indicated   1,095,000           0.101            2,210,000  

(Source: Frank M uranium project, NI 43-101 mineral resource report, 
 Garfield county, Utah, U.S.; author: BRS Inc.; Date: Aug. 10, 2008.) 

Anfield is not treating the Frank M historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A qualified person has not yet done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

This historical resource estimate was developed based on analysis of radiometric data from 838 historic holes and chemical assay from 17 historic core holes. The historical estimate also utilizes nine additional core holes that were drilled in 2007 to provide data verification and equilibrium evaluation. The grade thickness contour method was used to develop the resource estimates, evaluating grade thicknesses ranging from 0.10 to 1.00. The results disclosed in the table are based on a grade thickness of 0.25.

The Frank M historical estimate was prepared by BRS Inc., a mineral exploration and mining consulting firm using the standards of CIM indicated mineral resources. Thus, the company considers the historical estimate to be reliable.

Anfield intends to work with the same group to complete sufficient verification drilling at Frank M to bring the historical estimate to a current indicated mineral resource.

Wate and Findlay Tank breccia pipes

Approximately 1.4 million pounds of the historical mineral resource estimates for the assets purchased are attributable to the purchased interest in these two breccia pipes. Importantly the grade of mineralization at these breccia pipe deposits is typically higher than at the Utah deposits (in this case, 0.79 per cent U3O8 and 0.23 per cent U3O8, respectively). (Source: Findlay Tank SE breccia pipe uranium project, Mohave county, Arizona, U.S., NI 43-01 mineral resource report; author: BRS Inc.; date: Oct. 2, 2008.) (Source: updated NI 43-101 technical report on resources, Wate uranium breccia pipe, northern Arizona, U.S.; author: SRK Consulting; date: March 22, 2010.)

Wate

The acquisition includes a 50-per-cent interest in the Wate uranium project in northern Arizona held by the Wate Mining Company LLC. Anfield will become a joint owner with Energy Fuels Inc., which owns the remaining 50-per-cent interest.

Classification                          Tons    Average grade % U3O8   Pounds U3O8

Historic inferred                      71,000         0.79             1,118,000  

**Attributable to Anfield's interest   35,500                            559,000    

The historical inferred mineral resource was obtained using a grade cut-off of 0.15
per cent eU3O8.  

(Source: updated NI 43-101 technical report on resources, Wate uranium breccia pipe, 
 northern Arizona, U.S.; author: SRK Consulting; date: March 22, 2010.) 


                   FINDLAY TANK 

Classification        Tons    Average grade % U3O8   Pounds U3O8

Historic inferred   211,000          0.227              954,000    

The above historical inferred mineral resource was obtained using a grade cut-off of 
0.05 per cent eU3O8, with a minimum grade thickness of 0.50.  

(Source: Findlay Tank SE breccia pipe uranium project, Mohave county, Arizona, U.S., 
 43-01 mineral resource report; author: BRS Inc.; date: Oct. 2, 2008.) 

Anfield is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or 
mineral reserves. A qualified person has not yet done sufficient work to classify 
the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. 

The Wate and Findlay Tank historical estimates were prepared by SRK Consulting and BRS Inc. respectively, mineral exploration and mining consulting firms, using the standards of CIM inferred mineral resources. Thus, the company considers the historical estimate to be reliable.

Anfield intends to work with the same groups to complete sufficient verification drilling to bring the historical estimate to a current mineral resource.

Royalty portfolio

The transaction also contains a number of royalty arrangements on projects held by publicly traded companies that have the potential to be an additional source of income for Anfield. The royalty projects are not currently in production, and no royalty would be due to Anfield until commencement of production. The royalty arrangements are summarized as follows:

  • 2-per-cent to 4-per-cent sliding scale production royalty on Azarga Uranium Corp.'s (formerly Powertech (USA) Inc.) Dewey Burdock project in Custer and Fall River counties, South Dakota;
  • 2-per-cent net smelter returns royalty on Western Uranium Corp.'s (formerly Pinon Ridge Mining LLC, which acquired the project from Energy Fuels Resources Corp.) San Rafael project in Emery county, Utah;
  • 2-per-cent to 4-per-cent sliding scale gross value royalty on Energy Fuels Inc.'s Whirlwind project in Grand county, Utah;
  • 1-per-cent royalty on Energy Fuels Inc.'s Energy Queen project in San Juan county, Utah.

Surface stockpiles

In addition to the approximately 48,000 acres (approximately 19,425 hectares) of uranium properties included in the transaction, Anfield has also acquired two surface stockpiles. One of the stockpiles is located at the Shootaring Canyon mill, with a historical estimate of 250,000 pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.13 per cent U3O8. (Source: definitive cost estimate for the restart of Shootaring Canyon mill, Ticaboo, Utah, Lyntek Inc., July 28, 2008.) The other surface stockpile is located in the Lisbon Valley, having a historical mineral resource estimate of approximately 165,000 pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.09 per cent U3O8. (Source: technical report on the Lisbon Valley uranium properties, Utah, Roscoe Postle Associates Inc., Sept. 12, 2005.)

These surface stockpiles are significant, in that they represent potential mill feed sources with no mining costs and very low removal costs.

Anfield is not treating the historical estimates of the surface stockpiles as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A qualified person has not yet done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

Anfield cannot guarantee the reliability of these historical estimates, as the parameters, assumptions and methods used to estimate the historical resource are not known.

Anfield intends to conduct a sampling program and survey, in accordance with CIM standards and terminology, to determine the grade and tonnage of material present in the stockpiles, and to upgrade the historical estimates to a current resource.

Consideration for acquired assets at closing

As part of the consideration paid for the acquired assets at closing, the company has issued 7,436,505 Anfield shares to U.S. Energy and 4,022,996 Anfield shares to Uranium One. This results in U.S. Energy and Uranium One holding ownership positions in Anfield of 18.3 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively.

R. Tim Henneberry, PGeo, adviser to Anfield, is the qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

We seek Safe Harbor.

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